(a) Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a cooker or oven that is particularly useful for processing meats to produce smoked meats. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a smoker oven that releases innocuous amounts of smoke from the meat preparation process.
(b) Discussion of Known Art
The pleasing flavor of the smoke from certain woods has long been appreciated and sought after in the processing of meats. Still further, many baked cooked products are particularly rich in flavor at the moment that the cooking or baking process is completed. At this point the flavors imparted by the cooking or baking process and the natural flavors and juices imparted by the meat and spices are at an optimum state for consumption. After the cooking process has been completed, the taste of the meat begins to deteriorate due to the effects of other living organisms and the effects of chemicals that make up the air around the meat.
In order to savor the finished cooked or baked product, the consumer has to have access to the product as it is being produced. However, this has been rather impractical for products such as smoked meats. Known meat smokers produce large amounts of smoke, which means that these smokers must be used outside in well-ventilated areas. The fact that these smokers must be used outside makes these smokers impractical for use at the point-of-sale. Thus, there remains a need for a device that can be used as a point-of-sale cooking device that can produce smoked meats, such as jerky.
An example of a known device that can be used as a cooker at the point of sale is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,797 to Bollich. The Bollich device includes a pair of compartments. One compartment is used for creating smoke, and the other compartment is used for holding the meats that are to be processed and exposed to the smoke created in the other compartment. The Bollich device presents a stand-alone system for preparing smoked meats, but suffers from the limitation that the system must be vented to the atmosphere due to the direct release of smoke used in cooking.
A review of other known devices reveals that there remains a need for a smoker, cooker that can be used in enclosed areas, such as convenience stores. There remains a need for a smoker that can be used indoors and does not require the ventilation a duct leading to the outdoors or the use of a hood, as may be found in many restaurants.
Still further, there remains a need for a slow cooker oven that can be vented directly into an enclosed structure such as a convenience store, and thus allow the use of the device at a retail establishment such as a retail store. To aid in the selling of the products manufactured with the use of the slow cooker, it is desired to provide a cooking system that vent the aroma of the cooking meats onto the sales area, and thus trigger the appetite of passers by.
There remains a need for an oven that can be used in enclosed areas and which can efficiently circulate the air and smoke within the oven to produce uniform flavoring and uniform heating of the meat being cooked within the oven.